Drug Seizures by Police Scotland, 2013-14

Background

The statistics set out in this bulletin on the quantity of drugs seized cover the year immediately following the establishment of the Police Service of Scotland (hence forth referred to as Police Scotland). Prior to this, figures were collected and presented by the eight legacy police force areas. This bulletin does not include information on drugs seized by the UK Border Force or British Transport Police, or as a result of Police Scotland activity which led to drugs being seized outwith Scotland.

With the resulting change to the process of collecting and quality assuring data for this publication, some caution should be exercised in interpreting the statistics on the number of seizures (further information on these developments are provided in the Annex). A review into how drug seizure data is collected and how this statistical series can best add value to users, will be undertaken before the next publication. Users can be kept informed about these developments through registering with SCOTSTAT: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/scotstat.

There are two statutory requirements for the UK to provide data on drug seizures, which are managed by the UK Focal Point on Drugs, based at Public Health England. The UK Focal Point on Drugs collate drug seizures statistics from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and submit the data, provided for the UK Focal Point's annual report, to the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). These data inform the EMCDDA's annual report and the UNODC's annual World Drugs Report.

The minimum data requirements to satisfy these two obligations are to submit data on the number of drug seizures and the quantity of drugs seized for each of the following types of drugs: cocaine, crack, ecstasy-type substances, heroin, LSD, methylamphetamine, amphetamines, herbal cannabis, cannabis resin and cannabis plants. In addition to these ten drugs, this bulletin contains seizures data on methadone, morphine, barbiturates, mephedrone, anabolic steroids, diazepam, GHB, ketamine, temazepam and other benzodiazepines.

The statistics on drug seizures are used to inform National Outcome 9 – 'we live our lives safe from crime, disorder and danger' as well as The Strategy for Justice in Scotland. These statistics are also used by a wide range of stakeholders to monitor trends, for policy research and development, and for research purposes.

The 'Drug Seizures by Police Scotland' annual statistical bulletin series forms part of a series of bulletins produced by the Scottish Government on the criminal justice system which can be found at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/Publications.